Out With the Old: Drops Made Easier with StartUp App

It’s the kind of gadget that’s changed the
way we live – and entrepreneur Ricardo Buccianti believes it can change the way
we work, too.

Through the Coca-Cola Firehose Hackathon
project, Ricardo began a project that will allow delivery drivers to use their
own smartphones at work.

Streamlining Technology

The app allows drivers to work to
schedules, receive orders, take photos for proof of delivery, collect
signatures and even update their current location – all through their own
device.

“It’s like a freight-management system, I
would say,” explained Ricardo. “I can even explore tablets. The main goal is to
use the latest technology found on portable devices.”

Now entering testing in a piloting phase,
the system grew from the Hackathon event. Budding entrepreneurs were given
access to the vast Coca-Cola database in an effort to encourage start-up
companies to improve the company’s supply chain. “We needed real data for this
to work,” said Coca-Cola Accelerator founder, Franki Chamaki, who ran the
Hackathon project.

“Hackathon is basically a public event
where entrepreneurs come and learn what a start-up is, and actually build a
business over a weekend. We gave them data, we gave them mentors, and we gave
them a problem to solve. And at the end, they’re awarded some funds.”

Power and Versatility

Ricardo believes the system will prove useful
not only to Coca-Cola, but to other companies’ supply chains as well.

Though it’s not yet certain the project
will prove to be a success, it sounds like, at the very least, Ricardo’s on the
right track. “It’s not just providing a quick cost saving here,” he said. “It’s
the long-term benefit of exploring new technologies at a low cost.”